Nishma-Minhag

Thursday, August 11, 2011

And if in some lands they have a minhag to prohibit some things,
even though that we decide the opposite,
they should remain steadfast in their Minhag
because it has already accepted the Hacham who prohibited,
and it is prohibited for them to have a minhag permitting
as is found in the Fourth Chapter of Talmud Pesachim.

Shleah - as cited by kafHachayyim says the only way to be yotzeilechalhadei'os is to use 3.

Question: how did the GRA revert it back to 2?

Were Rosh, Rema, ShulchanAruch, Shelah all beta'us?

If so does this impact their reliability on other matters of Halachah?

Did the Gra feel bound by the norms MinhagYisrael - or by his read of the Talmud?

For those who have already switched to 2, should they switch back to 3 - since the shita of 2 goes against the norms of Halachic canons as posited by RHS? ""one can demonstrate that there simply was an error" . i.e the error here is going against MinhagYisroel.

Is there ever a time limit on overturningMinhag based upon error? IOW how many centuries of practice makes perfect or is it ALWAYS subject to revision based upon a better read of Talmud.

How do recently discovered girsaot of old manuscripts play into this? Are they demonstrative of earlier errors and therefore dispositive of minhaggim?

Note: This was posted on NishmaBlog onThursday, April 15, 2010

Disclaimer:

Apparently some readers previously took my questions as requests for information or opinions. They were primarily rhetorical in nature and I was not expecting any specific answers, just a contemplation of the parameters

In other words, Its' great when A Gadol [EG RHS] pontificates a principle, but what are the realistic parameters of this principle? Do we think this is really a consistent Meta-Principle that applies globally? The rhetorical questions poitn out that such pronouncments may be a nice rhetorical fourish, but what valence do they have in p'saq? It's like Kol Yisra'el Yesih lo Heleq l'olam Habba. A great platitude, but it's meaning is not quite what it says, because along comes several mishnayot qualifying the generlization.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Q: Why does uRechatz have the only vav in the 15 steps to the seder?Given that old Minhag Ashkenaz had washing BEFORE QiddushA: Therefore this serves to accentuate this distinction on the Seder night when the order is reversed

Furthermore, it further arouses the curiosity of the children as a result of this out-of-sequence procedure in the Seder

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Given in the days of our HolyTemple, we were commanded to Roast a Lamb with some very strict restrictions as to HOW. E.G. there could be no liquid, a special skewer or spit was required etc. Roasted had to be 100% roasted without any liquid whatsoever and the meat could not touch anything except its embedded pomegranate skewer.

Since the destruction of the Temple two divergent Minhaggim evolved

To EAT roasted meat in commemoration of the Paschal Offering

To AVOID EATING roasted meat in commemoration of the LOSS of the Temple and the Paschal Offering

This is not such an unusual phenomenon, i.e. that the same event or cause triggered diverse reactions all with the same underlying intent.

These diverse Minhaggim have legal weight wherever there is a bona fide "Minhag Hamaqom" For someone to eat Roasted Meat where the local Minhag prohibits that can incur Rabbinical lashes - Makkat Mardut! So this is no trivial matter at all. The Minhag haMaqom is tantamount to local LAW more than it is to be considered a mere custom.

In a future post, we will examine some of the parameters of the this Minhag.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Agur 762: many are accustomed not to put salt on the matzah on Passover (while baking) and so we are accustomed in ashkenaz...

And there is no reason in the matter to prohibit it (nevertheless) due to "Al titosh torat imecha" [do not abandon Your Mother's Torah] the one should not deviate.
---------------------
Or iow:
Customs can take on a life of their own regardless of the strict letter of the Halachah.
Kol Tuv
RRW

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Why do we sit in the Sukkah in the Golah on Sukkot but do not take the Lulav etc. on Shmini Atzeret? This question has bothered me since I was a kid - AND there are MANY reasons given.

Questions:

Why are Hanukkah and Purim observed only 8 and 1 day respectively in the Golah? Why not add a day?

Why is Sefirah done on the 2nd day of Passover as definite and not done on both 2nd and 3rd keeping 2 counts out of doubt?

Answer: The above are only Derabbanan. Extrapolate to Sukkot - and Sukkah is D'orraito ALL 8 Days while Lulav is Derabban after day 1. [Except in the Mikdash, but the mikdash of course never has a sfeika d'yoma anyway.]

So Sukkah on the 8th day in the Golah is a "S'feik D'oraitta l'humra" while Lulav is a "S'feik Derabbana l'kulah"

Monday, November 15, 2010

But lich'ora, tadir v'sheino tadir, tadir qodem and Ner Shabbat should come first

MB 1 says while Mechabeir doesn't really hold that Qabbalas Shabbos starts with lighting Ner Shabbos, rather he is merely chosheish for that Sheetah, [aparently that of the BeHaG as quoted By SA himself 263:10]

Lich'ora this should also mean that the mechaber should pasqen to light Ner Shabbos before the Brachah! IOW not over la'assiyasson.

But then I realized that perhaps the mechaber is only chosheish for the BeHaG that LIGHTING starts Shabbos, but not for the Mordechai who holds the BRACHAH starts Shabbos, so "yeish lechaleiq"

Sunday, September 12, 2010

I was taught as a boy to use coins instead. of chickens The Mechaber attacks the practice as Darchei Emori based upon some teshuvos to be found in be'er hagolah - though the Rema does defend the practice.

There are numerous problems with this practice TODAY in a modern Urban society. Suffice it to say, that in the absence of Minhag Avot or a STRONG community minhag [Minhag Hamaqom] I would venture to say even the Rema would concede the mechabeir's point.

Objections include:

1. Darchie Emori as above
2. Tza'ar ba'alei Chaim
3. Hillu Hashem

Theis last point can be shown in Hilchot Aveilus that many practices that are specifc int he gemara - e.g. kefiyas hamitta and Atifat Harosh - were eliminated because "what would the Gentiles say?"

There are heterim to wear shoes to shul on Tsiha b'av for the same reason. Any public "shlugging of Kaparos" that does not respect the tza'ar balie chayim of the chickens is therefore really problematic since there is no halachic requirement to do so! And aderabba the damage could be great!

That said if individuals have a strong community of family custom and they seem to know how to handle the chicken and they are discreet, I would not object to preserving their legacy. Rather I simply oppose popularizing something that many in the previous generations thought was a good idea to switch to coins.

FWIW - there is a family "legend" that when one child witnessed kaporas live he became a vegetarian as a result.

Josh commented in 2007 ...

How can we reconcile the fact that we even have an option to do something so cruel to a chicken with Judaism's general immense respect for all life?

To answer Josh's question:
Either the old custom was less cruel
OR
People were less sensitive in those days and did not experience it as cruelty
But I agree that if it is perceived as cruel NOW, it should be done away with or at least be modified to be as gentle as possible.
Make Sense?

Mishna RH 1:3 -
And on the 1st of Tishre all the comers of the world pass before Him Kivnei Maron

What does this term mean
The Bavli gives 3 explanations
The Yerushalmi 2 explanations.

The girsa as espoused by Hanoch Albeck is Kivnumeiron. This is related to the Latin Numerion. This suggests a Legion of Soldiers. See also Danby ad .loc. and footnote 12. This is also supported by a passage in the Tosefta.

The common understanding based upon the more popular reads in the Bavli and Yerushalmi are like sheep under the shepherd's rod. [Maron is apparently a Semitic word meaning sheep/flock.] What connotation is invoked by this metaphor? Are all of us helpless sheep under the protection of a pastor? How do we view ourselves?

On the other hand, what imagery does the concept of legions invoke? How do we NOW view ourselves? Do we see ourselves as loyal troopers in God's Legion?

The issue to me is one of dignity! The common, popular, albeit “source-text” challenged point of view, is that we should humble ourselves as sheep. Is this humbling or humiliating? What are the images of the Holocaust? Does not sheep invoke the image of passive victims?

Now soldiers in the Emperor's Legions are every bit as subject to massive slaughter as are sheep. Let's face it, the military is called upon to sacrifice humans just as often as sheep were sacrificed in days of yore. But THAT sacrifice invokes a DIGNIFIED image!

Meir Kahane was challenged just what did he mean by NEVER AGAIN? His retort was not that no further oppression or attacks could take place against Jews. That was impossible for Jews alone to prevent. What he sought to prevent was that Jews would NEVER AGAIN submit passively to oppression, that we would rise up and defend ourselves - much like our ancestors the Maccabbees did!

Now that God has revealed to us the original etymology by teaching us how this single word was in the time of the Mishnah and how it has been inadvertently distorted into 2 words, we should take this NEW lesson on the Old Torah to heart! We are now called upon to view ourselves as members of God's Legion and to abandon our self-imagery of the "sheep on the way to slaughter." Not only has history demanded such a paradigm shift in our thinking, but the newly revealed discoveries in text have confirmed that this has been God's desire all along, only we did not quite get HIS message!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

How did it come about that Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Hoshana Rabbaare ALL Days of Judgment?

The Levush addresses this very question. He gives a very insightful answer that I would like to share.

Background

The Jewish calendar has a major Lunar component and a minor Solar component. Furthermore,when it comes to the flood of Noah, and perhaps OTHER pre-Sinai events the traditional solar 365 days make a full year

Let's say that in Year 1 [or is that Zero?] God created the Heaven and the earth on Tishre 1 What is the corresponding solar Date? Let's arbitrarily say September 30th.

In Year 2 Tishre 1 is the Lunar Rosh Hashana. let's say it is 10 days earlier and falls on Solar Sept. 20th. When is the SOLAR new year? Why it is again Sept. 30th. This is due to the usual loss of 11 days which has been rounded off to 10 days. Sept. 30th is Yom Kippur in year 2 and the Solar Rosh haShana

In Year 3 Tishre 1 is the Lunar Rosh Hashana. let's say it falls on Sept. 9th in the solar calendar. What then is Sept. 30th or Solar anniversary? Why, it is Hoshana Rabbah!

What about year 4? We get a 13th month and recycle the cycle.

Thus whilst 1 Tishre is ALWAYS the Lunar New Year, Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabbah are pinch hit Solar New Years as needed. Thus, they also obtain the status as Days of Judgment!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Posqim - inlcuding Mishnah Brura advocate reciting Tehillim twice during Elul. In fact by doing 10 kappitlach a day, one can finish Tehillim twice; and the total of 300 chapters represents the G'matriya of "kapper"

But 10 chapters a days is a tad unwieldly. Because they vary in size so much, any day that includes kappitel 119 would be onerous.

Tehillim is already divided into a 30-day plan. So the simple technique I have subscribed to is as follows:

Elul: do ONE cycle of Tehillim using the existing monthly cycle.

During the 10 Days of Teshuva, use the 7 days of non-YomTov and of the weekly cycle. Thus, e.g. this year, on Tzom Gedalyah you do the Yom Rishon section ending on Erev YK with the Yom Shevi'i section

Saturday, July 17, 2010

There are several interesting parallels in the Final Meal before the Fast of Tisha b’Av and Yom Kippur

The most obvious parallel is that both fasts are for a full day - actually about 25 hours - as opposed to other fasts which are from early morning until night.

Both Final Meals traditionally follow the Minchah Service.

Both Final Meals have several custsoms and rituals that are unique to these meals.

What makes these meals so special? Nearly every Holiday has a special ritual at mealtime. The most obvious is the Passover Seder. At New Year, we eat special symbolic foods to start the year off right. At Sukkoss we eat in the Sukkah and even Shavuous we have the custom of eating dairy.

The problem with eating on Yom Kippur and Tisha b’Av is obvious since that they are both Fast Days. And since they are both FULL DAY fasts, we cannot possibly engineer a meal that would symbolize the day. That is where the final meal comes in. The reason it is eaten after Minchah is to connect as closely as possible it to the upcoming fast day. This explains perhaps why we specifcally recite the confession at Minchah BEFORE the meal on Yom Kippur eve. Since Yom Kippur is after all a Yom Tov, this final meal is somewhat festive. We have Challah, some have honey and we eat meat - although it is wise to eat bland and easily digested foods to prepare for the fast.

On the other hand, Tisha b’Av is a day of mourning. Mourners coming back from the burial normally DO have a special Mourner’s Meal. Since we cannot eat on Tisha b’Av, this mourners meal takes place BEFORE the Fast.

Therefore, these Final Meals before Both fast, function as substitutes for the meals that should have been consumed on the days themselves, but could not due to the fasts.

The Talmud teaches us that whoever eats on Yom Kippur Eve for the sake of the Yom Kippur Fast Day is considered to have fasted Both Days.

One of the "perfect misundertsandings - perhaps - is the prohibition of learningTorah Erev 9 Av! Especially when Erev 9 Av is on Shabbos!

I mean if 9th of Av is Shabboss we can eat a "Shaloshudes" fit for Shlomoh haMelech up to sheqia! But we can't LEARN after Hatzos!?

The fast allows us to eat food BEFORE the fast and to digest it DURING the fast after it has commenced. However, with Torah the digestion is itself learning and generating simcha- Hours after it was first consumed! Therefore we must learn ONLY Tisha B'Av ready topics during the hours leading up to the fast - lest we derive Joy from our intellectual ruminations

There are several brachos in which the Minhag "Seems" to deviate from theTalmudic formula

1 Boneh BERAHAMAV Yerushalayim

2 Mechahem Tziyyon Bevinyan Yerushalayim

The "classic" siyyumim are

1 Boneh YerushalayimAnd2 Boneh Yerushalayim respectfully :-)

Opponents of the "change" from the classic style cite the Passuq "Tziyyon beMishpat Tipadeh". - Which closed last week's Haftara of Hazzon - as a prooftext for eschewing these alterations.

What's Pidyon got to do with it?

However, a careful read makes this prooftext problematic; Viz. What's BINYAN have to do with PIDYON? How can we conflate the 2 verbs?

Rather this prooftext MUST be al pi drush and not al pi P'shat! So what is the reason for the anti Rachamim Position?

Glad you asked! It has to do with a fundamentalistic view of the matbei'a of brachos.

However, in Ashkenaz, that kind of rigidity was never enforced. Rather minor thematic embelshmints of siyyumim or chasimos was permitted, or even embraced for ad hoc puposes.

Is there a precedent? Yes during the 10 days of Teshuva the Talmud itself flexibly alters the chasimos in order to conform with the season's theme. By extension of Talmudic Methodology, the brachah of Menachem Tziyyon is similarly enhanced.

The Shulchan Aruch 551:11 mentions several customs regarding refraining from eating meat and drinking wine during the 3-week period.

The customs mentioned are:

From the 17th of Tammuz

From the 1st of Av

The wek in which 9th of Av falls

While at first glance they seems based upon Chmura etc. there is really a good rationales for these customs.

The Mishnah in Ta'anit 4:x mentions that on the 17th of Tammuz the Korban Tamid ceased. Furthermore it mentions that at the advent of Av - reduce our Simcha Based upon the above 2 principles we can understand the foundation of 2 of the customs. In discussing this with my friend Mordechai Shaffier, he articulated the follow construct:

Those who rerfain from meat/wine from the 17th of Tammuz do so out of "zecher lemikdash," i.e the custom commemorates the catastrophe of termination of the daily sacrifice- which is triggered on its very anniversary.

Those who refrain from meat/wine from the 1st of Av do so because of the principle that since there is no Simcha WITHOUT meat/wine; therefore meat/wine produce Simcha. And since we are told to reduce simcha from the 1st of Av, therefore it flows from and follows that meat/wine must be abandoned on that date in order to reduce our Simcha.

The Fundamentalist Halachah is that wine and meat are prohibited ONLY on the eve of he 9th of Av. Yet these minhaggim have a solid root in the Mishnah itself, they flow from a very natural source - without being forced

How did RY Karo, the M'chabeir of the SA, differ from other Posqim who challengethe Hegemony of Current Practice?

In this day and age we have non-Orthodox movements on the Left challenging Orthodoxy by using "halachic principles". RNCL seems to also question normative practice from a leftward position

Plus the various Neo-Karaite camps of various flavours are also looking to up-end Halachah as we know it to be replaced by a Talmudic or Maimonidean Fundamentalism. Their approach seems more rightward in saying tht Halachah may not progress from Talmudic times, AND once it has we MUST Regress and restore it back to its pristine foundations. Although some friends feel that this fundamentalism is a trojan horse masking Reformist tendencies

RY Karo might have seen the Halchic loophole of permitting meat during the nine days. But he also saw that exploiting it where the issur had been established was "poreitz geder"

Indirectly, the Right does not get off scott-free here either because many flimsy Humrot and other Revisionistic tendencies have undermined trust in our traditions and enabled revisionism on the left. [Law of unintended consequences] They don't see the Causal nexus, because they're so frum. Yet to me, discarding tradition, is often a "meta-message" being sent out when valid Traditions are ignored by the Right. Once distrust has set in, the left can manipulate it, too

For a great mashal, see Avot der. Nathan [ADRN] re: Anigonos ish Socho and how his dictum backfired. Hachamim nowadays have to see how their attempts at buttressing Halachah might undermine it in the long run if they do so arbitrarily.

Another Mashal the Midrash on Adam and Havvah re: "v'lo tig'u bo"

Here's the nimshal:First the right issues a humra that is "unfounded" then the Left seduces others by "shlugging up" the right with texts. Thus, Tradition goes by the wayside when we ignore it to further an agenda.

For the past several years I have been moderating Nishma Minhag as a Yahoo Group. I found that for the most part Yahoo Groups are not as flexible as Blogger. And so I am inaugurating this new edition of Nishma Minhag on Blogger AKA Blogspot.com

I plan to port most or all of the posts from the old Yahloo Group. Plus I plan to port many of the NishmaBlog Post that are Minhag-Centric over here. ThereWILL be overlap and BE"H it will be handled by posting on one BLOG and post a link to the other. This may go on a case by case basis

This also provides the flexibility to post multiple times to ONE blog and to summarize them by posting the links on thead one thread on the other Blog.